"It's a goal which you dream about when you're young and you just want to achieve it"- Daniil Medvedev on the possibility of becoming World No. 1
Daniil Medvedev has said that he would be very happy if he becomes the World No.1.
The Russian is currently second in the ATP rankings but the difference between him and Novak Djokovic is only 440 points. He can become the new ATP World No.1 if he wins the ongoing Mexican Open in Acapulco.
If the 26-year-old reaches the top spot, he would become the first player not named Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to be ranked No. 1 since 2004. The last person outside the Big 4 to occupy the top spot of the ATP rankings was Andy Roddick back in February 2004.
"I would be really happy, what else can I say?" Medvedev said. "It's a goal which you dream about when you're young and you just want to achieve it. When I reached No.2, I didn't know this but everybody started saying that I was the first one since Lleyton Hewitt in like 2005 and that was you know, nice to hear because it means that some of your achievements on the tennis court are really big, maybe bigger than I could imagine.
In his post-match interview at Acapulco, Medvedev said that while being the World No.1 is a goal he would like to achieve, he is more focused on winning as many matches as he can over the next three weeks. He also alluded to what it meant to be the first person to become World No.2 since Lleyton Hewitt in 2005
"But first, I need to achieve it because it's going to hurt even more if we talk a lot about this and I don't this. So my main goal is to win as many matches as I can the next three weeks and we'll see where I stand."
Daniil Medvedev is in the quarterfinals of the Mexican Open
The Russian entered the Mexican Open as the top seed and started the tournament by beating Benoit Paire in the first round. He then beat Pablo Andujar 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.
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The World No.2 takes on Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka for a place in the semifinals. If Medvedev reaches the last four, he could face Rafael Nadal, who beat him in the Australian Open final last month.